


QMS 8

by Deacon_Heller



Series: Quantum Mirror Series [8]
Category: Stargate - All Media Types, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:27:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26935867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deacon_Heller/pseuds/Deacon_Heller
Summary: A team member of SG 10 must learn how to deal with becoming a Tok'ra agent.
Series: Quantum Mirror Series [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1965412





	QMS 8

It took two more days to reach another world with a gate. Michael landed near the gate at quickly as he could. The Tel'tak slammed to a stop and threw everything in the ship forward. Ford and Colt quickly picked up Ward and heaved him through the hatch and towards the gate. Natock sprinted out behind them and dialed the Alpha Base. As soon as the worm hole was established they carried Ward up the steps, through the gate.

Michael radioed ahead of Ten to inform Alpha to have a medical team ready. By the time Ford and Colt came down the steps in the gate plaza on Alpha three medics were sprinting towards them. They carried Ward all the way into the infirmary as they explained his injuries. As soon as they dropped Ward on the bed Ford and Colt were pushed back so the corpsmen could take over. 

"What happened?" The corpsman asked as they cut off his uniform and began injecting an I.V.. 

"Three staff blasts to the torso. We were forced to put a Tok'ra symbiote in him to keep them both alive," Ford said.

They stood there watching as Dr. Forester approached and he was informed of Wards condition. Both men stood back, near the wall in their blood stained Jaffa armor, weary from days cramped in a Tel'tak without anything to eat or drink. 

"He agreed to that?" Dr. Forrester asked, examining Ward. 

"No. I'm going to have to explain that to him when he wakes up," Ford muttered. 

"He most likely already knows," Forrester said quietly. "If the symbiote hasn't communicated with him directly it will soon. Well, he's stable, somehow," Dr. Forester said turning back to Ford. "How long has he been unconscious?"

"About fifty six hours," Ford said rubbing his stubbly chin with his left palm. 

"For something like this we're going to need to keep him sedated. The symbiote is still alive, so I have to presume it's trying to keep them both alive. We need to take as much of the strain off of it as we can, and let it work."

"The blast wounds stopped bleeding, but they didn't get any better," Ford replied. 

"That's no surprise."

"How long are you going to keep him sedated?" Colt asked. 

"As long as it takes, but it's too soon to tell," Forester answered. "While you're here you two should sit down and let us check you out." 

"Mission's not finished," Ford growled. He turned to Colt. "Check on Natock and Washington, I'll stay with him." 

"Seriously, you two look exhausted, let me check you out," Forester insisted. 

Colt ignored him and left. He walked back to the gate plaza where the cases of weapons they stole from the armory were sliding through the gate across the event horizon. Seven Marines were standing on the gate platform handing the cases down the gate ramp and getting them out of the way. Colt reached the gate just as it closed. Natock and Washington were standing at the bottom of the steps speaking with General Wilson. 

"Michael will be returning with the Tel'tak in approximately four more days," Natock explained to Willis. 

"Understood," Willis said. When he saw Colt coming he turned and asked him. "How is he?"

"Stable," He told Willis. "But still unconscious," He said to Washington and Natock. 

"Get something to eat, and get some rest. Turn in your reports when you're ready," Willis said. 

"Yes sir," Colt said. The remaining members of Ten slowly began to walk towards the mess hall. 

"Excuse me. Excuse me!" Gray called after Ten. 

Willis walked quickly over to her and took her arm. "Now's not a good time Ms. Gray." 

"I have questions about their mission," She insisted. 

"And you'll still have them tomorrow," Willis replied. She tried to pull away but Willis held her arm tight. "Not right now. Those men need a little time."

She glared down at his hand on her arm. Willis let go. She turned and walked back towards her office. Willis watched her walk away. Gray was going to be a problem, that much was obvious. He looked back at the gate and the weapons that the mission secured for the free Jaffa. Technically, the mission was a success. 

Michael returned to Alpha forty three hours later. As soon as he landed the ship he went to the infirmary and checked on Ward. Ford sat in a chair beside Ward's bed, asleep. Michael read Ward's chart, and put it back without waking Ford. 

"How is he?" 

"Not well, but I think he'll live," Michael answered in his head.

"The symbiote?"

"Same."

"Michael," Dr. Forester said quietly as approached. "How are you?"

"We're fine. How's he?" Michael asked, pointing at Ward.

"Better than he looks, actually," Forester replied softly. "He's been sedated since he returned, but we were going to take him off those today. His symbiote seems to have saved them both."

"What about him?" Michael asked, pointing to Ford. 

"They've all been taking turns sitting with him in case he woke up on his own."

"I should go check on them," Michael said.

"I should check on you before you go. When was the last time you ate?"

"I don't know, what day is it?" Michael wondered out loud. "I'm fine. I'm going to go talk to them."

"Was that Michael?" Ford asked as he sat up in his chair. 

"You should go get some sleep," Dr. Forrester told Ford as he pulled the large square bandage tapped to Ward's chest to inspect the progress of his recovery. Ford stood up from the chair beside Ward's bed looked over Forrester's shoulder at the wound. Ward's chest was almost completely re-grown by the Tok'ra symbiote. He still had a large patch of skinless muscle over his sternum, but the all of his muscle had regrown. 

"How long until he's back on duty?" Ford asked. 

"I'm not sure. This was a massive wound, and I'm surprised he survived. I'm taking him off the sedatives now, but I'm not sure how much longer he's going to sleep." 

"I'll stay with him until he wakes up. He's going wanna beat the hell out of me, and we need to get that out of the way," Ford said.

"I see your point. Try not to destroy medical," Forester said as he walked away. 

Ward regained consciousness two hours later. He looked around the infirmary and saw Ford sitting in a chair beside him, his arms cross and his head drooped towards his chest as he slept. Ward had the strange feeling that someone was looking at him, but when he looked around it was just him and Ford. The sensation became even stranger when it felt like someone was looking at him from inside his own head. 

"Hello Christopher, my name is Axani, and I am a Tok'ra."

"Who said that? Where are you?" Ward asked in a groggy voice.

"Christopher, this is going to be difficult to accept, but I am inside of you." 

"What? No!" Ward's voice grew louder. He sat up and started to pull at the electrodes stuck to his chest around the bandage. "No!"

"Ward," Ford said, as he awoke and stood up. "I can explain..."

"Listen to him Christopher, he saved both our..."

"Shut up! I don't wa...get out of me HEAD!" Ward screamed as he crawled out of the bed. His knees immediately buckled because he hadn't stood in days. He dropped to the floor and struggled to get up. 

Ford scrambled around the bed and grabbed Ward's arms to pull him to his feet. "Chris, take it easy, let me tell you what happened."

"I know what happened, I have a god damn snake in my head, and you put it there!" Ward yelled at Ford. "How could you?"

"I had to or you would have died," Ford tried to say in a calming tone. 

"He's right, we were both critically wounded, and it took me days to heal us," Axani said, in his mind.

"SHUT UP!" Ward screamed into the empty air.

"Chris, it's ok, you just need to get used to this," Ford tried to calm him.

"I don't want to 'get used to this'. It want it out!"

"Ok, that's a little hurtful," Axani said in his head. "I saved our lives."

"I don't care, I want you out of my..." Ward began shouting but his eyes flashed and his voice changed. "That's enough of that. You need to calm down and take a moment to understand our new situation. I can't just leave, I need time to recuperate after what I did for us," Axani said.

"Ward?" Ford asked, as he head leaned back away from his friend.

"Hello Sergeant Ford, I am Axani," Ward said in a deep nasally voice. "Thank you for what you did for us."

"How's Chris?" Ford asked.

"He's not taking this well. He seems very prejudiced against Goa'uld, which is understandable given the recent history of the Tau'ri, but he doesn't trust the Tok'ra either," Axani said.

"How's he doing in there?" 

"There is a lot of screaming."

"Let me talk to him."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Just, let go for a second."

"If you insist," Axani said. Wards eyes flashed again. His head dropped for a second and then he looked back up at Ford, and punched him in the face. Ford fell backward onto a stainless steel cart. 

"Ok! I had that coming, I get that, but you need to calm down," Ford said as he stood back up in front of Ward. Ward punched him again. "Seriously, knock it off."

"So how long do I have to walk around with this thing in my head?" Ward snapped.

"I have a name."

"Michael says the Tok'ra will need to find another host for her," Ford said. 

"How long?" Ward snapped.

"I don't know."

"I don't know," Ford said. 

"You don't know?" Ward snapped as he darted toward Ford to punch him again. Instead Ford scowled and punched Ward in the center of his massive bandage. Ward crossed his arms over his chest and dropped to his knees. 

"I could numb that pain, but I feel like you deserve it." 

Ward crawled backwards and leaned against the bed. He pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms around them, crying.

"I'm so sorry," Ford said, as he knelt down in front of Ward. "I didn't want to do this, but you were going to die. I couldn't let you die, brother."

"So now what? Am I still on the team?" Ward asked, through his tears.

"No," Ford said. Ward cried harder. Ford sat next to him and wrapped his arms around Ward.

"What am I gonna do?" 

"The Tok'ra High Council wants you to report to them for the time being."

"This just gets worse."

"You'll like being a Tok'ra agent."

"I don't want to be a Tok'ra agent!" Ward snapped into the air.

"I don't know, Michael seems pretty cool," Ford added. 

"Yeah, Michael's pretty cool," Ward agreed. 

"Maybe you can work with him." 

"Who's Michael?"

"You started bleeding again," Ford pointed to the growing red splotch at the center of Wards bandage. "I don't know why."

Later that day Dr. Forrester returned to the infirmary with Merric, Michael, and a tank full of symbiotes. The Tok'ra finalized their negotiations with the Tau'ri and began the first of what they hoped would be many voluntary blendings. Four Tok'ra hosts were nearing the end of their lives and their symbiotes were in need of new hosts. 

Ward was wearing a Tok'ra uniform Michael lent him. He stood leaning against the wall as they entered, pulling at the collar. Michael gave him a quick head nod which Ward returned without a word. Ward was wanted to stand there and observe. He was going to be a Tok'ra very soon and he wanted to know everything he could, so he watched in silence. 

The SGC went to exhaustive lengths to find volunteers that would fit the needs and skills of the Tok'ra so they could return to their posts out in the galaxy. It was the beginning of an exchange program that both sides hoped to benefit from. The Tok'ra were always in desperate need of hosts, and the Tau'ri were in desperate need of knowledge. 

"I need to oversee the blending of those four," Forester said gesturing towards Merric and the tank of symbiotes he stood beside. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here to help with the blendings," Michael said pointing towards Merric. "It really messes with your head and Tok'ra tend to gloss over that."

Merric removed the lid from the tank for Dr Forester to examine the symbiotes just before they were put into new hosts. Michael stood beside Merric as he lifted the lid from the tank. Michael glanced down at the tank and then looked up quickly. 

"What's the matter? Don't want to see what's inside your head?" Torin asked inside his head.

'Not really, I try to picture you as an old James Bond. It makes it easier,' Michael thought.

"There's nothing wrong with this, it's a perfectly symbiotic relationship."

'Don't make it weird.' 

General Willis walked into medical with four people following behind him. He led them up to Merric and the tank. "Merric, these are the four volunteers you asked for. This is Air Force Captain Simone Simmons, Army Captain Nathan Richards, Dr. Raymond Bloom, and Fiona Kane of the CIA."

Michael smiled at her and they fist bumped.

"These are your symbiotes," Merric began. "Dr. Bloom will be blending with Sezav, our top scientist while the rest of you will be blending with our field operatives. Do you have any questions about anything before we begin?"

He waited but no one came forward, "Alright then, let's begin."

Merric reached into the tank and carefully took out a symbiote. He looked at it for a second and then waived Simmons forward. "Captain Simmons, this is Tolbor, please step forward and open your mouth."

She took a deep breath and stepped forward. Merric gently lifted the symbiote up to her mouth and let it wriggled down her throat. Two nurses stepped up behind her quickly as Simmons knees buckled and she blacked out. They lifted her up and laid her on an empty bed. Merric took out another symbiote and examined it before waving Kane forward. They repeated the process until all four of them lay unconscious in beds. Dr. Bloom was the last one to wake up. 

"Dr. Bloom, wake up," A strange voice said inside his head. The seventy year old scientist opened his eyes. He blinked and looked around at Willis, Merric and the other three volunteers. His vision was surprisingly sharp. He held his hand up in front of his eyes and blinked several times. 

"I've corrected your vision."

"What?" Bloom asked out loud.

"I'm sorry, we haven't been introduced, I am Sezav, and I would like to thank you for volunteering to blend."

"Um, you're welcome."

"As I was saying, I corrected your vision, arthritis, high blood pressure, and your back pain. I'll be working on altering your metabolism over the following weeks to deal with your weight. You'll notice a gradual reduction and it will relieve your knee pain." 

"That's amazing." 

"How do you feel?" Forester asked Bloom.

"Better than I have since college," Bloom said as he slid off the bed. He looked around at everyone else watching him. 

"You were the last one to wake up," Forrester said. 

"I had quite a bit of work to do, so I just let you sleep through it," Sezav said, in Blooms' head. Bloom picked up his glasses from small table beside his bed and looked through them. He squinted and put them down. 

"I had no idea they'd gotten so bad," He mumbled. 

"If we're all ready, please follow me," Merric said. He took the new Tok'ra with him to Michaels quarters for private debriefing. Ward trailed after the volunteers silently. After a short conversation about security measures they would need to follow Merric escorted them out to the gate plaza. 

Ford and the rest of Ten waited by the gate to say goodbye to Ward before he left. Merric led the others through the gate while Ward stepped off to the side. Colt walked over to Ward and hugged him tightly. "I'm so glad you're ok, brother."

"As am I," Natock added. 

"What's this crap?" Colt asked, tugging on Ward's Tok'ra uniform. 

"I'm one of them now," Ward replied. 

"Yeah, I got that. The question is why."

"While the Tok'ra's library lady was putting me back together," Ward said pointing at the back of his head. "General Willis loaned me out to the Tok'ra, but I binge watched Burn Notice with Michael and now I'm actually looking forward to starting some trouble in the empire."

"That sounds good, I guess," Colt said.

"And I get a promotion," Ward added.

"Oh, well, there you go. So what's next?"

"I go before the High Council and then get an assignment," Ward said.

"Good luck with that," Colt said. 

"You are a great warrior, and your presence will be missed," Natock added. 

"He's right, it ain't gonna be the same without you," Ford added.

"Thanks. It's going to be strange working alo...without Ten beside me."

Three days after Ward left Ten returned to active duty off world missions. Three of the next four missions they executed were just explorations of abandoned worlds, and the fourth was first contact with a barely populated world of farmers. They spoke with they for a few hours and took back a few samples of the local crops. Ford told them that another team would return in a few days to speak with them about trading food for medicines. 

When they returned to Alpha Base they turned in their reports, but Colt couldn't sleep so he sat on his rack trying to complete the interface design that General Willis asked him to perfect weeks earlier. 

By three in the morning he'd hit a wall and found himself too annoyed to go to sleep. He got up and wondered down and across the yard behind the temple all the teams were barracked in to the science research labs in the sub temple complex behind the temple the teams bunked in. He wandered the halls until he found Dr. Blooms lab. Colt stood in the open stone archway of the massive windowless room crammed with computers and diagnostic machinery. 

"Wow. You really have dropped a ton of weight," Colt said to Dr. Bloom.

"Yes, Sezav has been a boon to my health. I feel eighteen again," Dr. Bloom said looking up from his computer. It was three weeks since his blending and Sezav shaved one hundred and forty pounds from the old scientist. "Is there something I can help you with Mr. Hayes, they have me studying all the data given to SG1 by a race called the Gadmeer. There are at least one thousand Nobel prizes in a variety of fields contained within this data, but I suppose they don't really merit a Nobel, since it's not a discovery, but just an examination and reproduction. What was I saying?"

"Oh yeah, General Willis asked me to work with you on developing a field interface unit for Goa'uld technology." 

"To do what specifically?"

"Well I was thinking some kind of plug and play crystal that links directly into my computer," Colt said, pointing to his chest.

"Yes, your field unit. What do you need from me?"

"Well you're in a unique position to write a program that will translate Goa'uld programs into English. I need someone who is fluent and understands all the technical language their systems are based on."

"I see. That shouldn't be too difficult. The actual crystal interface will be the real challenge."

"I already got the Carters working on that." 

"Carters?"

"The smoking hot android-replicant-cylon-clones of Dr. Samantha Carter."

"Well in that case, it should be done by tomorrow."

"God I hope not. It's my only excuse to hang around their lab."

"To be young and in love. Wait, is that even possible with them?"

"I'm trying to finding that out," Colt said, with a grin as he walked out of Blooms lab.


End file.
